How one psychedelic trip can alter an entire lifetime | Matthew Johnson: Full Interview

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“Psychedelics crosscut so many interesting domains. They've been used for time immemorial by indigenous cultures. In our own Western cultural history, they really exploded on the scene in the 1960s, and were associated with radical changes to society.”

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Psychedelic research is enjoying a renaissance. Matt Johnson, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins, is at the forefront of the movement to redefine our understanding of the mind and its interaction with these powerful substances.

As psychedelic compounds steadily enter the sphere of clinical trials, Johnson's groundbreaking research underscores their potential to bring about a paradigm shift in psychiatry, neuroscience, and pharmacology.

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About Matthew Johnson:

Matthew W. Johnson, Ph.D., is The Susan Hill Ward Endowed Professor of Psychedelics and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins. Working with psychedelics since 2004, he is one of the world’s most widely published experts on psychedelics. He has published research on psychedelics and mystical experience, personality change, tobacco smoking cessation, cancer distress treatment, and depression treatment. In 2021 he received as principal investigator the first grant in 50 years from the US government for a treatment study with a classic psychedelic, specifically psilocybin in treatment of tobacco addiction. He is also known for his expertise in behavioral economics, addiction, sexual risk behavior, and research with a wide variety of drug classes. He’s been Interviewed by Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR, Fox News, Fox Business News, BBC and in Michael Pollan’s book How to Change Your Mind.